Smoked Salmon and Urenika

This recipes shows off the lovely purple Urenika potato but you can substitute any good quality potato and the flavours will be the similar. Coloured potatoes contrast beautifully with smoked salmon and lemon so if you can, opt for colour potatoes.

The deep purple Urenika or Maori potato is precious here in New Zealand. They are pretty boring looking the outside, and their secret is within. The small knobbly spuds can be found at most farmers markets but are absent from supermarket chains and as there is no mass farming of these potatoes. It’s as shame as they are quite beautiful to look at and taste earthy. I guess their rarity makes them more special.

I’ve heard these potatoes can be quite easy to grow. In any case, at the end of summer, I poked a few sprouting potatoes into a planter box. The tomatoes were finished so I figured I had nothing to lose. A plant that looked liked nightshade sprouted up and when I pulled it up, I was surprised to find tiny purple balls attached to the roots. Eureka! Urenika! That’s right, potatoes are part of the nightshade family. A little confusing as we have bad nightshade and good nightshade in our yard. I popped the plant back into the soil and it seemed ok. Not sure when I should pull it up again, but for now, I’m going with store bought potatoes.

As one of my readers pointed out a comment the other day, they look like the French Vitelotte. Whether they are related or just similar looking, I don’t know. I only have small Urenika and they are waxy and the texture smooth and tight but I have heard that large Urenika are floury. Another reader suggested these potatoes would go great on pizza. Potato pizza? I had to give that a whirl.

For this recipe, you can use hot or cold smoked salmon. I used hot smoked salmon as I prefer the texture, but often cold smoked is all that is available.

Smoked Salmon & Urenika Potato Pizza

Serves several people as a snack/starter or 2 hungry adults for a proper meal

Ingredients

1 large pizza base

2-4 Urenika potatoes (dependent on size)

50 grams (2oz) smoked salmon

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 cup grated cheese

Fresh thyme

1 lemon

Preparation

Pre-heat oven to 200°C / 390°F.

Spread sour cream on pizza base and top with half of the grated cheese.

Scrub and dry potatoes, peel them if you prefer and cut them as thin as you can with a with a sharp knife. If using hot smoked salmon, gently flake apart salmon, if using cold smoked salmon, chop into bite sized pieces.

Arrange potato slices and smoked salmon onto of pizza. Top with the rest of the cheese and bake for 15 minutes until potatoes are cooked, cheese is golden and pizza base is cooked through.

Gather fresh thyme and cut some thin lemon slices. Top pizza with lemon slices and thyme and bake for a further 5 minutes. A lazy cook could skip this part by adding all the ingredients in at the start but I find the fresh herbs get a bit *too* done.

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I am Genie, a designer/photographer obsessed with food and bunnies. I live in Auckland, New Zealand with my husband, The Koala. I write about my hedonistic ways and I love the mantra "Eat well, travel often". I prefer not to write about myself in third person.
www.bunnyeatsdesign.com

I adore smoked salmon quiche. Eggs and smoked salmon are lovely together. Another firm favourite of mine is eggs benedict – poached eggs, eggy hollandaise and smoked salmon. What a way to start the day!